Monday, August 19, 2013

Book Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
by Rick Riordan
first published 2005 by Miramax books; now published by Disney Hyperion

About the Book:Percy Jackson is about
to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of
his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount
Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek
mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of
them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the
prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to
find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount
Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than
catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who
abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of
betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the
gods themselves.

My Take:
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read this book, but where I
was developing my own underwater mythology, I didn't want to be swayed
by Rick Riordan's best seller. So I waited. I'm glad I finally gave in
and read it, as I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Well done, Mr. Riordan.

The
Lightning Thief is a fun and exciting read, barreling along at
break-neck speed with cliff-hanging chapters that keep you reading as
fast as humanly possible.

I can totally see why this series is so popular with middle schoolers, as well as with their teachers.

The
writing is a crisp and easy to read first person adventure. The story
itself is laden with true-to-history mythological references, albeit
transferred into the modern world. No offense to Edith Hamilton, but
this book would seem much more fun for a middle schooler than her more
straight-laced classic. And I can totally see why there's currently a
resurgence in myth-based YA fiction in the wake of Riordan's huge
success.

I did read some criticism of the book's similarities to
the Harry Potter series; a half-blood boy who splits his time between
the mortal and magical realms, a misfit hero with two best friends - a
boy with heart and a girl with brains - to help him on his quest to save
the world... yes, there are similarities. But I don't think the author
was imitating a formula, as the critics seem to imply, and I don't think
the series would have been so popular if it were merely a knockoff.

I
do, however, think the story and the voice appeal much more strongly to
younger readers and have less cross-over appeal than some other YA
series. I know plenty of fifth graders who swear by these books, but not
as many eighth graders, and certainly not high schoolers. I'll be sure
to recommend this book and this series, but am not sure I'm tempted to
read the rest of the series for myself.

Bottom line? If you have an 8-12 year old who needs a great summer series (or school year reading, for that matter) start them on this series (that is, if you can find a child who hasn't read them already.) You'll both be happy that you did.

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Welcome!

I'm an author, editor, magazine columnist, wife, and mother to three kids and two big dogs... not necessarily in that same order each day. I try to write every day and read a book a week, but life often gets in the way.

I write romance and adventure for young adults and the young at heart, and living next to the Atlantic Ocean influences everything I write...